Other Questions

[greghh]

Hi Bill,

I did register Ascendis Caller ID a few days ago.

After more script confusion, please allow me to tell you what I want to happen in Ascendis:

When a "known caller" calls, here's what I want Ascendis to do:

1. Play ring.wav and answer after 3 rings (I want to use my own ring.wav).

2. Play aftertone.wav telling the caller to leave a message after the beep tone (I want to use my own message.wav). The caller hears the beep tone. By the way, how is the 'beep' entered into the script? Or is it automatic?

3. Allow the caller to leave a message (allowing 90 seconds maximum for the message).

4. The caller leaves a message.

5. Hang up.


For Blocked calls:

1. No ring.wav.

2. Play a blocked message.wav.

3. Hang up.


I assume that the 'Sound' command is what I hear - and - the PhoneSound command is what THEY hear. Is that right?

Is it possible to have the Sound command or PhoneSound command in the same script?

I don't want to hear the TTS in any case. I only want to use MY wave files in each instance.

Now...
How do I do this?
Will you show me the scripts for these instances?

Thanks for your help.

[Bill Root]

Hi Greg,

I'd be happy to provide you with scripts and explanations to do what you requested, except that Ascends Caller ID does not record messages. I'm sorry that was not clear. We offer a 30 day money back guarantee, should you decide to try a different product.

Ascendis Caller ID can do the other parts, if you have an answering machine to do the recording.

When a "known caller" calls, here's what I want Ascendis to do:

1. Play ring.wav and answer after 3 rings (I want to use my own ring.wav).

2. Play aftertone.wav telling the caller to leave a message after the beep tone (I want to use my own message.wav). The caller hears the beep tone. By the way, how is the 'beep' entered into the script? Or is it automatic?

3. Allow the caller to leave a message (allowing 90 seconds maximum for the message).

4. The caller leaves a message.

5. Hang up.

Since Ascendis Caller ID can't record a caller's message, I'll leave out everything after playing ring.wav, since you would want an answering machine to do that part.

• a) Open the Ascendis Caller ID main window
  b) Click the "Categories" tab
  c) Right-click in the Categories list and select "New Category". The "Edit Category" window should appear.
  d) In the "Category Name" box, enter "Known Caller"
  e) Make sure "Action" is set to "Easy"
  f) Click the "Play Sound" tab
  g) Place a checkmark in the "Enable" checkbox
  h) Click the "..." button, navigate to your "ring.wav" file, and click Open
  i) Click the "Speak" tab
  j) Make sure the "Enable" checkbox DOES NOT have a checkmark. (You can check the other tabs too. All should be disabled except for "Play Sound")
  k) Click OK to save the new category and close the window

In addition, each known caller already in the Callers list must be changed to use the above category:

• l) Click the "Callers" tab in the Ascendis Caller ID main window
  m) Right-click on a 'known' caller and select "Edit Caller"
  n) Change "Category" to "Known Caller"
  o) Change "Action" to "Category"
  p) Click OK to save the changes and close the window
  q) Repeat steps m-p for all other 'known' callers

Finally, when someone calls who you like to be a 'known' caller:

• r) Right-click the call in the Calls list and select "Add to Callers". The "Edit Caller" window will appear.
  s) Change "Category" to "Known Caller"
  t) Change "Action" to "Category"
  u) Click OK to save the changes and close the window

For Blocked calls:

1. No ring.wav.

2. Play a blocked message.wav.

3. Hang up.

Ascendis Caller ID comes with a "Block" category we can modify.

• a) Click the "Categories" tab in the Ascendis Caller ID main window
  b) Double-click the "Block" category. The "Edit Category" window should appear.
  c) Replace the contents of the script box with this script:

  Code: Select all

  // LANGUAGE=DWS
  
  PhoneSound('Disconnect Tones.wav');
  HangUp;

  d) Replace the "Disconnect Tones.wav" with the complete path to your wave file, unless the file is in the Ascendis Caller ID program files folder. Keep the single quotes around the pathname.

I assume that the 'Sound' command is what I hear - and - the PhoneSound command is what THEY hear. Is that right?

Yes, exactly.

Is it possible to have the Sound command or PhoneSound command in the same script?

Yes, absolutely, although it requires an advanced action at this time.

I don't want to hear the TTS in any case. I only want to use MY wave files in each instance.

If you have not yet changed the default category to disable speech, let's do it now:

• a) Click the "Options" button in the toolbar of the main Ascendis Caller ID window
  b) Click the "General" tab
  c) Note the category specified in "Category for new callers". In new installations, this is "Default"
  d) Click Cancel to close the Options window without changing anything
  e) Click the "Categories" tab in the main window
  f) Double-click the "Default" category (or the one named in step c)
  g) Click the "Speak" tab
  h) Remove the checkmark next to "Enable"
  i) Click OK to save the change and close the window

If you haven't already noticed, the right-click menu for calls, callers, and categories includes a "Test Action" command at the bottom. You can use this to check your actions. For some commands, like PhoneSound and HangUp, it's of limited use. PhoneSound will be routed through the computer's speakers for testing. HangUp will add a message to the Activity log. The Activity Log will also contain messages if the modem doesn't support PhoneSound or the sound file is not formatted for the modem. (You can view the Activity Log by clicking the "Activity Log" toolbar button, or selecting "Activity Log" on the "View" menu.)


Please let me know if you encounter any problems.

Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software